


Green in the dust

by InsaneB



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Doctor Harry, Famous Louis, Hurricanes & Typhoons, M/M, Nicknames, Pining, Poor Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-25
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 03:12:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1842175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsaneB/pseuds/InsaneB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ptHYuizu5A</p><p>Louis Tomlinson is 1/4 of the biggest boyband in the world. Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne are his mates. The boys are rich and fit, but their hearts are bigger than One Direction’s fame. Helping less fortunate ones is what they love the most about being famous.</p><p>Harry is less fortunate than pretty much every human being in the world. Harry lives in Tacloban. Tacloban is a city in the Philippines, in which category 5 Typhoon Haiyan made a direct hit on 11/8/2013.</p><p>After their trip in Ghana, the four famous guys make a trip in Tacloban.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Green in the dust

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. I wrote this in March and then 1D announced they're going to be in the Philippines in March 2014. Woah, ok.
> 
> English isn't my mother tongue, I wrote this in Italian and translated it into English. I try!

 

 

It had been five months since Typhoon Haiyan destroyed the major part of the Philippines on November the 8th. Eleven millions saw their houses being razed, over six thousand died and almost two thousand were nowhere to be found.

 

Two of the people who died used to be a twenty years old boy’s parents, one of those guys who had always lived their modest life with their family, learning how to cook, wash their clothes, harvest and just leave from their parents.

 

Harry had always paid extra attention when his father spent his afternoon working on their orchard, trying to learn how to do it properly so he could help him and make him sit down and relax. Harry spent his entire life helping his parents with everything until that November day.

 

When Harry was done with his outdoor choors, he would usually help his mother cooking some delicious homemade soup. Everything they eat was the result of their own hard work. Well, everything but the salt the man from the shop at the end of the street gave them for twenty tomatoes or something like that.

 

Harry had always been happy and kind of an optimistic guy, one of those who never hold back a really _really_ bad joke just to hear his mother’s laugh or his father’s even worse joke.

 

Then it happened.

 

And now, with those beautiful green eyes, Hary could just look at his shattered house, his orchard covered in debris and the exact point in which he had found his parents’ dead bodies, right beside that tree which laid on the grass, its roots showing.

 

 

_Harry woke up feeling something hard and unconfortable in his spine. He felt his face dry and dirty, his eyes burned like fire. His tears had dried in his cheeks and when he opened his eyes and remembered the reason why he fainted on mud and dust after crying for hours, his heart sunk painfully._

_It hadn’t been a nightmare. When he sat up and looked around, an hiccup took his breath away. His parents’ were still there, lying close to eachtother next to their neighboors’ house. Harry desperately tried to catch his breath, but the dust was making it hard._

 

_What happened in Tacloban the day before left him shocked. Everything in there was just dust, mud and dirt, he didn’t had an house anymore and he found himsefl being suddenly an orphan. He could hear whimpers, an elicopter approaching the area and the sound of children crying._

_The first thing he did when he stood up, his feets between bricks and personal belongins, was try to find a duvet or something like that to cover his parent’s bodies. He found a tablecloth stuck betweeen a bath heater and a tree. He rubbed his eyes failing when he tried to stop crying, approaching the lifeless bodies._

_He fell on his knees and cried harder; he couldn’t believe it. His father and his mother would be there for him never again. He put the tablecloth aside, covering his face with dirty hands and running his fingers through his dirty hair, shaking life a leaf. He didn’t manage to do anything else but crying for about fifteen minutes, and when he stopped he didn’t felt better._

_He watched his parents again, then closed his father’s green eyes with his palm; they didn’t look like his own anymore. They were empty and there was no spark in them. Then he brushed his mother’s hair aside, lowered her dress to hide her knees and kissed both their foreheads. He bit his lip, put the tablecloth over their bodies and looked around, seeing himself in other people crying for their families and friends._

What do I do now? _, he asked himself, without finding a proper answer._

 

*

 

 

 

 

Money, food, water, meds and tents were sent by pretty much every single nation in the world. Things in Tacloban hadn’t really changed that much, dirt and rubbish still covered the entire city and the encampments were crowded.

 

Harry used to go to the encampent during breakfast, lunch and dinner time only. He usually took his meal, eat half of it and gave the rest to one of his youngest friends. Bayani was fourteen years old, and everytime Harry gave him some bread or soup, he always told him he shouldn’t have, because he saved his life and that was enough.

 

Actually, Harry had saved Bayani, Dakila and Imee’s life.

 

When _the thing_ happened, the four of them were playing football in a field just outside Tacloban. Harry, the older of them, had found himself face first on the ground, but didn’t freak out. His friends had screamed in panick instead, causing them to cough desperately.

 

Harry had crawled on his elbows, told his friends to hold on eachother’s hands and brought them in front of a giant rock just a few meters away. It was the only thing he could think to not being dragged by the wind. Had made them sit down with their chests pressed on the rock, telling them not to give up. Their shirts had been lifted up and their backs still had the scars of all the sand after five months. Branches and objects had crashed on their skin during the typhoon.

 

 

They were injured, but survived. They were alive thanks to Harry.  
  
Bayani, the youngest, was left completely alone just like Harry. Even before the typhoon he had no parents, but he found himself without his grandfather too.  
  
Dakila who was just seventeen, had at least found his mother. His father and his three years old little brother were nowhere to be found.  
  
Imee, eighteen years old, had found his father and his uncle. Her mother was missing. They didn’t even find his body, but after five months, she knew what happened to her.  
  
Harry had decided to help Bayani because he was the younger an loneliest among the three. He slept and ate the camp, while Harry had not wanted to steal place in there. He was twenty and a strong one, and he could take care of himself.  
  
He thought that the camp should be used only by children, women and the older ones. Men like him had to roll up their sleeves and work, or Tacloban would never be able to live normally again.  
  
Harry had managed to build not a house but a corner in which to sleep. He had raised two metal plates and used one of the few walls left standing to create something like room with only three walls. A curtain covered the fourth side and the top. It was awful, but he had a mattress to sleep on, without sheets or pillows, and also had little bit of privacy.  
  
He lived there, a few meters from other lonely men’s makeshift accommodations. They were a team. Every morning they got up and got rid of debris, collected clothes, tried help the volunteers.  
  
They always went through the same routine, and it seemed like things hadn’t improved in the slightest. They couldn’t rebuild a city all alone. They had no money, but that wasn’t really a problem since the shops did not exist, there was nothing in Tacloban.

  
Harry would often move the bricks to find something to eat where there previously was a shop. He took water only from the encampents, and dividing his meals with Bayani left him terribily emanciated. He vaguely remembered his tummy and an hint of fat in his hips.  
  
When in the evening of March 23 Harry returned to his own accommodation, he sat against the wall and opened a tiny can of beans with a kitchen knife. He had found two other cans and decided to open them when in need. That day he had given his entire dinner to Bayani because he had caught a bad cold and seemed weaker than usual.  
  
He usually spent that part of the day around the campfire with the team. That day he didn’t feel like it though. He was tired and needed to be alone.

 

So he found himself alone, eating cold and tasteless beans for dinner. The volunteers in the camp gave him a spoon and a fork, so he didn’t have to eat them straight from the box with his hands at least.  
  
He had eaten only half of the beans when he heard the men from the team speaking louder, in English. Ok, it was also an official language in the Philippines, but among themselves they spoke dialect. So he was surprised when he heard: _'But aren’t you one of those guys from a British band? My daughter loved you_ ,’ and the subsequent answer: _'Yeah, One Direction. I'm Louis. I’m so sorry for your daughter. Take a bottle of water and some fruit, they’re for you guys'_.  
  
Harry frowned. With his can of beans in hand, he leaned over and pulled his head out of the curtain, observing the people around the bonfire. There were a dozen men of the team and a rather young boy who was talking and gesticulating gaudily. He was hading a plastic bag and a bottle of water to every single man there, and when he was done one of the members of the team pointed to his accomodation, asking for Louis to bring something to him too.

  
The boy turned and looked at the only accommodation illuminated. Illuminated was manner of speaking of course, because the only source of light Harry had was a candle. Harry stared at the boy as he approached, leaving the other envelopes but one around the campfire.  
  
"Hi, you speak English too, right? Please say you do," said Louis immediately, with an accent Harry couldn’t recognize.  
  
Harry pulled back the curtain, and the guy didn’t waste time. He sat on the edge of the mattress and handed him the bag full of fruit and a two-liter bottle of water. Harry jealously put them in the corner.  
  
"I do. Maybe even a little better then the others... My father was American," he said, and Louis sighed in relief.  
  
"You're very young," Louis observed, and Harry read on his face a bit of apprehension. "How old are you?"  
  
Harry snuggled back against the wall, thin and long legs pressed tight against his chest. He eat some more beans, even though he no longer felt that hungry anymore and somehow felt vulnerable in front of a boy who may have been accustomed to luxury restaurants. He was ashamed. "Twenty," he said as he swallowed, not looking at the boy.  
  
"Why are you here with older men instead of staying at the camp with all the other boys?" Louis asked again, shamelessly studying him.  
  
Harry felt ugly. He was skinny, he hadn’t had a shower in days, he was wearing dirty clothes and was eating beans straight from the tin. "Because even if it doesn’t seem like it, I’m strong and healthy. So I have to help. I only go to the camp to help out and eat. There, there must be only women, children and the elderly."  
  
The English boy smiled and wrapped his arms around his knees, then rested his chin on his elbow. "I admire you," he uttered, and Harry looked at him for a few seconds, noticing his bright blue eyes. "Anyway, I'm Louis," he said.  
  
Harry shook his hand with his own, which was much larger than Louis’. "It’s Harry. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Harry. Your father called you that, yeah? It doesn’t sound like a Filipino name."  
  
Harry nodded slowly. "Yes, he did. It was my paternal grandfather’s name. What about you? Why is your name french?" He asked, actually happy he’d been able to start a conversation.

 

Louis shrugged. "Mom likes France. Or maybe I was conceived there, I don’t know. I’ve never asked about that," he confessed, then shrugged. "Alright, Harry, what’s the job of your dreams?"  
  
Harry knew the boy was accustomed to talking to people. He asked questions without any fear, and didn’t look bothered about talking to a stranger, sitting between a wall, two metal plates and a tent. "I wanted to study and become a doctor. I don’t think I ever will now though, there is no escape from this situation."  
  
The English boy frowned and shook his head. "If you want to, you can do it no matter what. Maybe not now or in a year, but sooner or later you will."  
  
"Madicine’s Uni is far away and expensive, I couldn’t afford it before the Typhoon, I’m never gonna have a chance now," said Harry, with a smile full of bitterness. He shrugged his shoulders and put his empty tin can outside the tent, then curled up again in his corner.  
  
"Mhh," murmured Louis, tilting his head and looking at the boy in wonder. "Were you good any at school? Do you like studying? Medicine is a tough one."  
  
Harry shrugged, then blushed under the layer of dust that covered his cheeks. "My teachers said I was a good student," he said, embarrassed.  
  
"What is the capital of Nepal?"  
  
"Katmandu," Harry said without thinking, then furrowed his brow. "Why are you asking me something like that?"  
  
"How many bones are in the human body?" Louis asked again, without batting an eyelid.  
  
"Two-hundred and seventy in adults and two-hundred and six in infants—what are you talking about?"  
  
Louis raised his eyebrows and nodded appreciatively. "Last question for the jackpot: is the sking an organ or a system?”  
  
"What the—it’s an organ. What jackpot?" Harry mumbled, blinking with confusion.  
  
"Congratulations, you just won a scholarship for Medicine! Now you just have to pass some tests," Louis grinne. He leaned over to give him a pat on the boy’s shoulder, who opened his eyes and his mouth, but Louis interrupted him before he could even speak. "Don’t even try telling me I don’t have to. Or refuse it. A new doctor in the world isn’t a gift for you only."  
  
"How will I study? There’s nothing here! I haven’t read a book in months!" Harry said, feeling ashamed all over again.  
  
"Don’t worry about it. I need to know your last name," Louis added; he pulled out his iPhone, looked at Harry, then waited.  
  
"Styles," the boy muttered, dazed.  
  
Louis wrote his last name as a new contact in his phone, but that he had to leave it without a number. He asked Harry for some other informations, and Harry replied with anxiety in his chest.  
  
Once satisfied, Louis put his phone in his pocket and smiled. "Ok Harry Styles, now you must promise me you’ll study and that one day I’ll be able to say that I’ve paid for of one of the world's best doctors’ studies," he said, and Harry smiled with gratitude.  
  
"I promise. I can’t believe this is happening to me," he murmured. He felt the need to hug him, but at the moment he smelled so bad that he did not dared to do it. "Thank you so much, I’m overwhelmed" he said with the best smile he owned.  
  
"It’s nothing Harry! You’re welcome! Come on, give me a hug, I gotta go," Louis concluded, then sat down on his knees in front of him, opening his arms.  
  
Louis was shining, his shirt wasn’t dirty with mud and his arms were inviting, strong and tanned. Harry felt even uglier.  
  
He shook his head, giving him a sad smile. "You better don’t. We can’t really take a shower everyday, I smell like rubbish."  
  
The English boy rolled his eyes, and in a moment Harry found himself caught between his arms. For the first time in months he smelled perfume, not the usual smell of mud, sweat and overflowing sewers. He proceded to hug the boy trying not to raise his arms, mortified about himself, and heard Louis laughing softly.  
  
"I can assure you Niall smells twenty times worse after a concert. And the smell in our tour bus is..." He paused, shaking his head. "You would never like to put your nose there."  
  
Harry found himself laughing. It was a sincere laugh, and he felt weird. He usually was the one who made everyone laugh, not the other way around. "Ok, I guess? Never put my nose inside a tour bus. Got it. Hey... I promise I’ll do my best. Thanks Louis, when and _if_ I’ll have money again, I’ll buy one of your CDs."  
  
Louis let him go, still laughing. "I count on it," he commended, then stood up and pulled back the curtain. “Well, goodnight Harry Styles, and good luck with your studies."  
  
"Goodnight Louis. I promise I’ll be worth your money."  
  
Louis left him with another smile. That night, Harry slept knowing his parents would be proud of him for the man he was.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

It had been three days since Louis and the other three members of One Direction had left the Philippines. They had been there for a day only, but they’d left traces everywhere. When Harry had looked at one of the camp tents earlier, he had noticed lots of new blankets and pillows. Children had some new toys in their hands.  
  
Next to the tent in which food supplies were stocked there were now two larger ones, one filled with bottles of water and the other one with boxes full of food supplies and what looked like articles for the hygiene of children and adults.  
  
Harry walked past the hospital tent, waving an hand to the volunteers who now called him by name. One of the nurses called out for him waving in his direction.  
  
Harry turned and walked toward Cassidy, who smiled and pointed with a thumb behind her back. "There's a package for you. We received it along with eight boxes full of toys for kids, sheets and markers. Come and open it, I’m curious,” she said quickly.  
  
The boy followed her inside the tent, and yeah, he obviously saw that coming. He saw a medium sized box, fairly heavy and wrapped with magazines pages. He found some thick books and a letter in the box, which was quite short but said everything Harry had been waiting for.  


_So. You’ve got the books and you’re in list for the Silliman University admission test. Now it’s up to you, Harry. Have fun studying, soon-to-be Dr. Styles._

_Louis_

  
  
There was another sheet in which Harry read the confirmation for his admission test. Harry pulled out the three books that were lying in the box, and laughed when he saw that Louis had also sent him a backpack to carry them too. The backpack wasn’t empty: there were pens, pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener, highlighters and some notebooks.  
  
The books included all subjects he would have to study for the test, and in each of them there was a tag in which was written his name in an elegant calligraphy.  
  
Cassidy stared at him, frowning and leaning in to take a look. "Care to explain?”  
  
"One of the One Direction guys will pay for my studies," Harry said grinning like a child and putting the books in his new backpack. He checked three times that he hadn’t forgotten anything in the box before closing the bag and putting it over his shoulders.  
  
Cassidy batted her eyelids and raised her eyebrows in shock. "Wow," she began. "I'm happy for you Harry. You deserve it. What are you going to study?”  
  
"Medicine. He enrolled me for the admission test," he confessed with a slight blush on his cheeks.  
  
"So you could be my boss one thay?" She asked with a laugh, and Harry shyly shifted back and forth on his feet.  
  
"Come on," he muttered. "Let's hope everything works out, we'll see. Not ‘cause I hope to be your boss. I just wanna be a good doctor. I'll try,” he said, stumbling in his own words. "Okay, I'm going to help the volunteers now. Bye Cass!” He finished, and she reciprocated with a laugh as she shook her head.  
  
That day, for the first time after five months, Harry couldn’t wait to get back to his dirty corner that had not yet managed to call 'home', with the thought of starting to study and devour those books.  
  
That was the reason why he didn’t eat anything and Bayani found himself with a double portion of stew for lunch and four slices of meat for dinner.  
  
Harry had only eaten one of those cans of beans that day, but he had never felt so happy.  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
Harry had another letter in his hands two months later, when he had just two months to study for his admission test missed. After reading it he had written an answer, and when he had given to Cassidy, she had pointed out that he had to put a stamp on it to send it.  
  
He had almost burst into tears realizing that he couldn’t respond to Louis who had been disgustingly polite to him, and Cassidy had reassured him, telling him that she would’ve bought a stamp for him.

  
That night he read the letter from Louis again, just before lighting up two candles and beginning his study session.  
  
  
 _Harry!  
  
Are those books too much for you? How are you? How do you feel about the test? Because the it is in two months and I am writing to you to give you all the informations about your travel!_

_  
You will find them in the other sheet, I recommend you to follow the carefully.  
  
I just wanted you to know that I’m never going to regret this, ok? No matter what. But something tells me you’ll be more than fine. You can send me a letter back if you want to, but I’ll be able to reply once I’m home again! We’re always on the road.  
  
I’m sending you a virtual hug Harry (remember, Niall always smells worse)._

_Good luck for your test!  
  
  
Louis  
_  
  
  
Harry had used the best calligraphy possible to write his letter, opting for an italic full of curves that maybe looked a little too girly. He had put the dot over every single 'i', used commas and capitalization carefully and checked twice for any mistakes. H now hoped that Louis would answer sooner or later.  
  
In the meantime, he kept on studying from his precious books, writing some notes in his notebook.  
  
  
 _Hi Louis,  
  
I am studying really hard, I am finished with first book and studied three quarters of the second one. Here nothing has changed, but they are rebuilding the city. It's hard.  
  
How are you? I’m looking forward to just do this test! Am I really going to stay in an hotel all by myself? And fly in a private jet? You’re mental! I’ll never thank you enough, Louis, seriously. I hope you’ll be proud of me within five years.  
  
I swear I’m doing my best. Good luck to you and the other guys with your music. There is a group of girls who always talk about you here and they still can’t believe they got to meet you guys._

_Everyone can see something has changes with your trip here. There’s so much food, new clothes, toys... Thank you guys.  
  
Break a leg!  
  
_

_  
Harry_  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
Two months later, Harry flew for the first time in his life, stayed in a posh hotel room, was treated like a prince and had completed his admission test with anxiety, although he found the one hundred questions quite easy.  
  
After two weeks he received another letter from Louis.  
  
Reading the address, Harry laughed and shook his head, because the letter had been sent to Doncaster and then Louis had opened it, read it, slipped it into a new envelope and sent it to Harry.

 

The boy curled himself in a corner in the hospital tent to read the results of his test. His hands were shaking furiously when she sat down on the ground and tore off one side of the envelope. He opened Louis’ letter first, hoping that, if he had failed, the English boy would’ve told him with better words than the ones written by a bored secretary.  
  
  
 _Harry,  
  
I’m so proud of you! I don’t really have much more to say, I’m just happy and proud and I KNEW YOU’D PASS IT! YES! You deserve this, Harry!_

_You’re moving in the campus in about two weeks, everything is settled. Everything you’ve got to know is written on the back.  
  
Make me even prouder? No pressure, though!_

_Best regards Doctor Styles (Ha! I’ve got to talk to you like a doctor deserves, eh?)  
  
  
_

_Louis  
_  
  
Harry cried for the next two hours, and within the next two everyone knew that the Styles’ son would study to become a doctor. That night volunteers, nurses, doctors and every single person in Tacloban had fun and congratulated Harry for his achievement.

 

That wasn’t the party of the year, but they spent their first happy day in months. They had something to be proud of, and that was Harry, who had a talk with Cassidy to assure Bayani his double portion of each meal.

 

Maybe, just maybe, Harry had still a chance to live the life he had always dreamed about, even though he wouldn’t get to share it with his parents.  
  


 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

Once he moved in the campus, it was easier for Harry and Louis to keep in touch. Harry had now a proper address, and Louis had made him find a lot of stamps collected in a little box in his room. There were also a bunch of envelopes and writing paper.  
  
The first thing he did when he entered the room though, was get into the shower and stand under the hot jet for half an hour. He had missed that feeling terribly. He could now comb his hair curly hair with his fingers without finding any knots.  
  
He also had a small closet full of clothes, and he got rid of his dirty t-shirt forever throwing it away like trash.  
  
When he looked at the mirror after only an hour, he found a completely different guy. He wasn’t disgusting anymore. He didn’t smell, he wasn’t covered in dust from head to toe, and his eyes were no longer the only bright thing he owned.  
  
He was an ordinary twenty years old guy, he had the chance to study to realize his dream since he was a child, and it was only thanks to Louis.  
  
He didn’t waste time. He sat down on the chair in front of his desk and began to write, with a smile that just had no chance to disappear on his lips.  
  
  
 _Louis,  
  
I HAVE NO WORDS. My room is beautiful, my new clothes are beautiful, I-BOOKS! I've just noticed them! I had my first REAL shower in nine months or so and I'm still overwhelmed.  
  
I'm happy, I can’t wait to attend the lessons, and I don’t know how to thank you. One day I'll find a way, I swear.  
  
I think I'll look for a part-time job here, so I can send some help in Tacloban to my friend Bayani. He's too young and alone. Cassidy, one of the nurses, will continue to bring him a double ration of food for me, because I can’t no longer do it in person.  
  
I met you once and that was enough to start caring about you. Love you, mate!  
  
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU so much for everything you’ve done for me Louis.  
  
Kind regards (you’re the famous one!)_

_  
Harry  
_  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
 _Dear Sir,  
  
it's been a year, unbelievable. We are constantly aroundon the road, our latest album is a success! We've got nominated for a Grammy! Be happy for us! Happy days!_

_  
Or maybe, you shoud first listen to our music, I sent you a mobile phone--maybe I shouldn’t have said it, it was supposed to be a surprise ... however, there’s a folder in which you can find our music, tell me what you think about it. I also added my number, so we can stop with these letters that take ages to be sent.  
  
Text me as soon as you get how your mobile works, yeah? So, how about your latest exam? Aced it like always?_

_Okay, I’m not going to lie anymore, I get a report after each of your exams, so I already know you’re smashing it. I feel like a proud mother._

_  
Ah, download Whatsapp, Skype and Twitter, we’re gonna use them too to keep in touch.  
  
Okay, I’m done with rambling. Go figuring out how that mobile of yours works!  
  
Love ya, mate!  
  
Kind regards (I’m gonna call you doctor in four years!)  
  
_

_Lou_  


 

  
Harry placed the letter on his bed and immediatly picked the package. He tore the envelope, then looked at the box and remembered seeing one of those phones in his friends’ hands. With his part-time job at the bar of the University he had never been able to afford one, since he spent everything he earned for Bayani.  
  
Every now and then went out with the guys he met at the campus, but he had always maintained a flawless conduct: no alcohol, no smoking, no lack of sleep. He wanted to make a Louis proud, and become a doctor demanded exemplary behavior. He could not ruin his health if his goal was to save lives.  
  
He turned the smartphone in his hands then pressed a button, turning the device on. He read the instructions, learning how to send a text first. Of course, he sent the first one to Louis. There was only one number in his address book, which was a little bit sad.  
  
It took a while to type the text, because he was not used to the keyboard. He used the school computers, but his fingers seemed too big for the touchscreen and he typed two letters together several times.  
  
  
 **To: Sir Louis Tomlinson**  
Nice name you put in haha! So, you pay for my studies and check my grades, did you put cameras in my room? Kidding. Anyway, yes, I did smashed my exam, even though you already know that! Thank you AGAIN, but you're spoiling me. Love you!  
  
  
Harry checked he hadn’t spelt anything wrong then sent his text. He didn’t know how in the hell he was supposed to download those three things that Louis had mentioned, so he got up and walked out of his room, hoping to find one of his friends to ask for some help.  
  
Before he could find one Louis replied, and Harry felt excited about the fact that they could finally get a quick answer.  


  
 **From:** **Sir Louis Tomlinson**  
Ha! I’m never gonna tell you what’s your name in my phone. Ever. Have you downloaded those apps? I should have a few spare minutes in a bit

  
  
Harry decided to wait befor replying, because he was not sure he knew what Skype was. He found Benjie in the library, books, pens and highlighters scattered all over the table in front of him. Harry sat quietly beside him, and the boy looked up and smiled kindly.  
  
"Hey Styles, I thought you were done with books after your latest exam?" He whispered, frowing slightly.  
  
Harry handed him his new phone, shaking his head. "I just need some help with this, it’s my first one. I have to download three apps... how do you that?"  
  
Benjie laughed and showed him the app market, explaining that he just had to type the names of the applications and install them in his device. Harry followed his instructions carefully, then thanked him several times and came back to his room, his gaze fixed on the phone. He downloaded Skype first.  


He didn’t really know what to do, but he created a new account and put a silly nickname which he probably would regret later: DrStylesOneDay  


  
 **To:** **Sir Louis Tomlinson**  
Why can’t you just tell me my name in your phone? Come on! Anyway, you could’ve explained how to use this thing better, you know.  
  
  
 **From:** **Sir Louis Tomlinson**  
Shut up and tell me your Skype username  
  
  
Harry laughed, the typed his username. _DrStylesOneDay. How old am I again?_  
  
It took a few minutes for them to be able to start a video call. When Harry saw Louis again for the first time in over a year, he couldn’t help but smile.  
  
"I like your hair," was the first thing Louis said, laughing.  
  
"Of course you do, it’s clean now," Harry agreed, combing his curls with his fingers.  
  
"I didn’t realize they were curly back then," Louis confessed, and Harry snorted.  
  
"I was disgusting," he complained, making a face as he kept smiling, looking at the blue-eyed boy. "So, where are you now?"  
  
"New York, three concerts here, one yesterday, then one tonight and tomorrow. I’ll bring you along when you’ll be a Doctor,” he informed him, then grabbed a piece of chocolate and ate quietly in front of the camera, making the curly haired boy laugh.  
  
"Enjoy your meal. And when I'll be doctor I hope I’ll have enough money to take you somewhere, it’s the least I can do. I owe you everything."  
  
Louis snorted, holding the phone with one hand and the piece of chocolate in the other. "Stop it, you don’t owe me anything. So, when’s your next exam?"  
  
The two boys talked for almost an hour. They didn’t know yet, but that would become a pleasant habit between the two of them.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

They kept in touch for two years thanks to Skype and Whatsapp. Harry had collected excellent grades in his first three years of college.  
  
Everything was perfect.  
  
He had met new people, made friends, and had never forgotten those kids he had saved during the typhoon in Tacloban. He tried to think as little as possible about that day, but sometimes it was hard not to.  
  
He always tried to realize how lucky he’d been meeting Louis and to get the chance to leave Tacloban, to be able to study and get an education. Occasionally, however, he collapsed because he feelt the need to write a letter and send it to his parents to let them know what he was studying and how much he missed them.  
  
And he cried. He curled up on his bed just as he had done for months in his dirty corner in Tacloban and cried really hard. He never called Louis when he felt like that, because he didn’t wanted to think he was a cry baby.

 

Harry didn’t see that coming when at the beginning of his last year of college when he found himself in that situation, but because of a different reason. Fuck that fucking phone, fuck internet and fuck Twitter, which had showed him a full photo reportage about Louis walking holding hands with a disgustingly tall, tanned and fit guy.  
  
Harry put his hands over his face, feeling stupid and small, because he had refused to understand that he had fancied Louis for nearly four years. Now that he admitted it to himself he was crying his eyes out as if he unconsciously had always hoped that once he became a doctor, his feeling would’ve been mutual.  
  
And he felt stupid because it wasn’t like that, because he would always be the little boy Louis had met in a destroyed city, because he would always be the best action Louis had ever done and nothing _more_.  
  
That day, Harry didn’t anwswered to any of Louis’ texts, calls or DMs on Twitter.  
  
He did the same the day after and the day after that.  
  
What Louis had to know about him, came with a letter from the University after every single one of his exams. Everything else was just an illusion.  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
Louis had tried. He had sent letters, texts, messages on WhatsApp, audio recordings, had tried to call him, but Harry hadn’t say a word to him in two months.

 

He had two ways now to solve his problem: asking their fans to help him or just visit the Silliman University.

  
He decided to go with the first one. Their fans were amazing.  
  
He went on his Twitter profile, which had been verified for years and years, and wrote a new tweet.  
  
  
 **Louis Tomlinson** @Louis_Tomlinson – Haven’t heard from a friend of mine in two months. Spam @drstylesoneday for me? #TalkToLouisDoc  
  
  
He pressed send and waited. He had over twenty million followers, they could do this.

  
It didn’t take that much for it to happen. Harry’s followers went from thirty (Louis more than twenty and nine foreign colleagues) to nine thousand in an hour. '#TalkToLouisDoc' was trending worldwide, and Louis read several tweets, starting following so many users that he hit follow limit for the first time in his life.  
  
  
'Whoever you are, talk to Louis! He cares about you, talk to him! #TalkToLouisDoc’  
  
'Do you even know what I'd do to have a chat with Louis? He’s a ray of sunshine, you can’t not talk to him! #TalkToLouisDoc’  
  
'DOCTOR STYLES TALK TO LOUIS TOMLINSON, IT’S THE 1D ARMY SPEAKING! #TalkToLouisDoc’  
  
  
Louis found himself smiling reading some tweets, but nothing could make him smile like a single word by Harry would.  
  
He waited.  
  
He waited for four hours, checking his phone every three minutes, his heart heavy, and the constant need to cry. Why did Harry refused to talk to him?  
  
The answer came with a text message, sent from a number that Louis didn’t recognize.  
  
  
It’s Harry! Louis what the hell? My friends told me to take a look at my mentions on Twitter, 500,000 followers crazy fans are asking me to talk to you. I've been very busy, and my phone is broken. My friends are asking a lot of questions and don’t understand the reason why I know a celebrity. So I had to tell them I met you when you guys visited Tacloban. However, I didn’t really managed to find the time to reply to you. I’m so sorry Lou. Please don’t reply to this number  
  
  
Louis frowned after he finished reading the text. Wow. Ok, the phone was broken, but what about everything else? Harry hadn’t had five minutes to write him a letter in two months? Why does that smelled like a lie?  
  
But yeah, ok. Harry had finally spoken to him again.

  
But he had got now a bad feeling, and didn’t really know what to do about that.  
  
  
  
Harry handed the phone to Benjie, sighed and went to shut himself up in his room. He had lied to Louis, but what would he have said to him? 'Sorry if I haven’t talked to you for two months, but I was trying to forget that I like you. Oh, and I was jealous of that guy you were walking with holding his hand'? No, he felt bad enough just like that.  
  
When he had read Louis’ tweet, he had felt guilty. It wasn’t Louis fault that he, the awkard boy from Tacloban, had a crush on him. Louis loved him. Ok, just as a friend, but he loved him, cared about him, and instead of giving him his friendship and be forever grateful for changing his life, Harry had ignored him.  
  
He had read all his posts, his letters, listened to the recordings. His cell phone wasn’t broken.  
  
Harry only felt like a liar and a bad person.

 

And felt stupid too, because not even a degree would have changed who he was.

 

Not even a Doctor was enough to Louis.  


 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

It happened two months before his final thesis. Harry was sitting on his bed, and he was wandering around on the internet. He didn’t really know how it happened, but he found himself typing _'Louis Tomlinson Harry Philippines'_ on Google. No results.

 

It seemed like Louis had never talked about the fact that he had paid for the education of a boy from the Philippines.  
  
Harry thought the world had to know.

 

He created a free websited, added a pic of him and wrote their story.  
  
  
 _My name is Harry Styles, I’m currently twenty-four years old, I’m in my final year at Silliman University. I’ll be a doctor in two months, and if four years ago I would’ve never thought I would._

_  
On 11/9/2013, typhoon Hayian destroyed the city in which I was born by an american father and filipino mother. I lost them both that day. I had to stop and realize i had to give up, admitting myself I would never had the chance to realize my dream.  
  
Even before the disaster my family didn’t had much money, but maybe working hard I could’ve afford it. But I suddenly found myself with nothing. I had no parents, no home, no money, no chances.  
  
I was broken and I always tried not to show it. I worked, helped my friends, tried to smile as much as possible, but I was broken.  
  
That was until five months after the typhoon, a person has changed my life. A guy that millions of people know, with brown hair, blue eyes and an heavy accent. He brings a bit of Doncaster wherever he goes, and perhaps his fans have already guessed I’m talking about Louis Tomlinson by now._

_  
They had landed in the Philippines to bring all the help they could, but I couldn’t imagine what Louis Tomlinson did for me. He gave me a chance._

_He gave me_ the _chance._

_  
We talked, he gave me some food, a bottle of water and asked me what I wanted to do as an adult. I wasn’t expecting that, by telling him I wanted to be a doctor, he would have improvised a quiz to verify in some way if I were prepared to try to attend a university like that.  
  
When I answered correctly, he informed me that would pay for my education, and didn’t wanted anything in return. Nothing.  
  
Only one with a big heart can make a gesture like that and keep it hidden for all these years. He never let anyone know, and I I noticed it today. And now, I respect Louis Tomlinson more than ever.  
  
I will always be immensely grateful to that guy._

_If in two months I’ll be able to save lives, take care of people, have a proper future and just being proud of myself, it’s thanks to Louis._

_I will never forget what he has done for me._

_Thank you Louis._

_Harry Styles_

_  
_  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
Harry shoul’ve really expected it, but he was disappointed nonetheless.  
  
He was now Doctor Styles.  
  
And he was happy, yeah, ok. His dream had come true, but he was still disappointed because Louis hadn’t been there when it happened. But Louis never promised him he would, so Harry was just being a cry baby.

 

He didn’t really know if that was the best or the worst day of his life.

 

He entered his room on the campus for the last time. He started packing his things with a frown, feeling sad and stupid. He placed his beloved books in a box then folded his clothes and huffed, feeling the need to cry and just let it out of his chest.

 

He should’ve been happy, but maybe he liked Louis more then he expected.  
  
A few minutes passed, and when the door of his modest room opened, Harry didn’t even raise his head, so the intruder greeted him after closing the door with a laugh.  
  
"Greetings, Dr. Styles," said the voice, bringing a breath of Doncaster with it.  
  
Harry lifted his head so fast his neck made a weird sound, and when he looked at the boy in front of him, smiling at him with pride, he suddenly felt tears burning his eyes.  
  
 _Oh my God, what the hell, I wished for this to happen so much that I’m going mental. This can’t be real._  
  
But Louis opened his arms, as if to ask him what had to do to get a reaction.  
  
"Louis!" Harry shouted, and in a moment he got up from the floor, tripped over his own feet and hugged the boy so tight his arms hurt. "Louis it’s been so long, last time I saw you, you were on a screen."  
  
Louis squeezed back with equal force, and his laughter filled Harry’s ears. "Last time I saw you in person you had dimples clogged with dust," Louis joked, smiling fondly. "I'm proud of you. You are my greatest pride, though I knew from the beginning that you could do it. And what you wrote on the website... fans are still talking about it and management jumped in joy. Good publicity and all."  
  
Harry snorted, but didn’t let the boy go. After four years just wanted to hold him tighter. "I just stated the truth. Because one day I searched on Google and realized you had never said anything. It had to be said Louis, you changed my life."  
  
Louis smiled and blushed with his cheek pressed on the boy’s chest. It was ok because Harry couldn’t see his face. "Mom cried when she read about it."  
  
"What? Nobody knew about it at all? Not even your mother?" Harry asked, lowering his head a little to look at the boy, who shook his head.  
  
"I did ‘cause I genuinely wanted to help you. I don’t give a fuck about the press, Harry. I was just kidding about that before. Along with the songs I write you’re my greatest pride," the boy answered, and Harry felt so happy he almost fainted.  
  
His chest was going to explode, and Louis still had that cheerful and sweet voice and the same heavenly smell he had four years before. It was not the same as to hear his voice through a mobile phone. Harry adored him and he owed him everything he had now. The words had died in his throat, because damn it, Louis. Right there, in his arms. He was there, he came back to the Philippines to visit him and he was proud of him, and-"What changed in these four years?" Louis asked without removing his cheek from his chest.  
  
Harry gulped, trying to find something to say. His previous thoughts didn’t help. "I graduated, I have a few friends, I helped Bayani and the other guys in Tacloban. You already know all these things, I've always written to you about them..."  
  
Louis swallowed. He had always thought Harry was smart, but he was still a teenager on the inside. "Oh come on, I wasn’t talking about that", he said, and Harry muttered a 'Huh?'. Louis snorted. "You know, is there someone in your life?" he asked him, rolling his eyes.

  
"Oh," Harry began, clearing his throat. He started sweating. "No."  
  
"Why’s that?" Louis pushed, biting his lip. A voice in his head was praying to get something out with those questions, but Louis felt anxious now. He didn’t know what to do about that feeling.  
  
"The first two years I was too busy not to disappoint you," Harry said with an embarrassed laugh. Louis rolled his eyes. "Then Uni got a bit difficult until my final year, I had a lot of exams and I barely had time to make friends."  
  
Louis nodded slowly. "What about your last year then?"  
  
Harry was blushing furiously. He felt hot and was confused. _What now? Should I do it or shut up? Again? What if he still has a boyfriend?_ He asked himself for a few seconds, until he realized that he could not keep that weight on his shoulders anymore. So he just said it. "In my final year I didn’t even try to know someone else, because I knew I had in love with a guy for ages."  
  
The English boy's eyes widened and lifted his head, staring at the doctor's green eyes with an expression that was a cross between despair and hope. "Harry, tell me that guy’s me or give me some pills to calm down."  
  
Harry laughed, shook his head, snorted and raised an arm to scratch his head, blushing like a teenage girl. _What’s going on? Is this happening or... ?_ He shrugged, as if it was a matter of fact, even though he had never said before. "Of course it’s you."

 

Louis sighed in relief, closed his eyes and stood there for about ten seconds. When he opened the again, there were tears filling his eyes. He grabbed the doctor’s neck with his hands and finally kissed him. Harry laughed on his lips, and it was perfect.  
  
The green was no longer lost in the dust, the blue had joined it and together they now looked like the sea. No dust, no mud, no tears.  
  
Louis could now change Harry’s name in his phone now.  
  
From 'Perfect green-eyed boy' to 'MY perfect green-eyed boy'.


End file.
